25 Best Wrestling Moments Of 2024

6. Watch Out For The Shoe

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AEW

The Toni Storm Vs. Mariah May feud wasn’t a resounding, unqualified success - at times, the blood feud tone and heightened characterisation proved an ugly mismatch - but the heel turn that drove the last chapter was phenomenal. 

Mariah had just defeated Willow Nightingale to win the Owen Hart Foundation Cup. The match was very, very good, which was just as well. The quality of the final substantiated the idea that she had arrived - and because she had arrived as a true contender, she didn’t need Toni Storm any longer. 

This lent the turn an unconscionable edge. May didn’t agonise over nor tease out the decision; she was ruthless, and this character choice was reflected in the physicality. 

The physical performance of the turn was vile, distressing, dangerous. In a superb payoff to some in-plain-sight foreshadowing, Toni did not watch out for the shoe. May took off her high heel and bludgeoned her with it. Storm’s forehead looked less bloodied and more flayed, and May looked perilously close to scooping what was left of Toni’s right eye out of the socket. 

This is what a heat angle should look like, elevated by AEW’s trademark attention to detail.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!